Over a third of London homes on sale have cut asking prices - claim

More than a third of the homes in London currently on the market have had their asking prices reduced according to analysis by an online estate agency.

HouseSimple says 35.3 per cent of properties currently on the market in the capital have had a price drop, up from 29.7 per cent in February.

The boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Kingston upon Thames both have more than 45 per cent of current property stock dropped in price by agents; in four other boroughs – Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow – more than 40 per cent of properties currently being listed have had a price drop since initial listing.

At the other end of the scale, Newham has the least discounted properties with 25.7 per cent. 

HouseSimple looked at current listings in 32 London boroughs on Zoopla, and the percentage of those properties listed that have been reduced in price.

“The London property market has run out of steam. Agents are dropping prices to persuade cautious buyers to purchase in an economic climate where it’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen next” says Alex Gosling, HouseSimple chief executive.

“What’s unusual about the level of discounted properties is that it would suggest there are too many sellers and not enough buyers. But strangely this market is still suffering from a lack of new supply. There are actually plenty of buyers looking, but they’re a different buyer from 12 months ago. They are more cautious and viewing multiple properties before making a decision” he adds.

“Anyone committed to selling may have to accept that they need to drop their prices if they want to attract buyers. This is a time to price realistically not optimistically to attract buyers in a market that is stagnating not booming.”